It would be nice if the N900's UI rotated no matter what app you used. While third party apps can stipulate a specific mode such as portrait or landscape, the UI should support it natively in all parts of the UI.

The N97 is a perfect example of a similarly configure device that supports ASR and can be used as a case study.

Solutions for this brainstorm

Selected solutions for this brainstorm

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Solution #6: Develop a method by which desktop widgets rotate and reposition themselves

If the widgets rotate, they may also move to allow proper use of the screen real estate. Once a desktop is rotated, the widgets will rotate 90 degrees. Some may be improperly positioned to be seen well. The user can reposition them in portrait mode, and when they go back to landscape, the widgets rotate 90 degrees, then slide to their former position. It could work inversely for widgets initially placed in portrait mode, rotating and sliding to their preferred landscape locations on rotation. I can imagine the sexy rotation transition animations this could show, and it could be the eye candy that makes people like the Maemo OS.

Not selected solutions for this brainstorm

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Solution #1: Widget and Dashboard tile data rotation without changing the shape or location of the cells they're contained in

Solution #2: Create portrait mode data entry method.

This could and should include the option to choose T9 on screen keyboard for portrait and landscape modes, portrait and landscape QWERTY on screen keyboards, and/or portrait and landscape handwriting support.

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Solution #3: Create a new mechanism to open the telephone app,

Make an icon available on the dashboard and desktop to open the phone app at all times. It could be a phone handset icon or a phone keypad icon. Block the automatic opening of the phone app by autorotation.

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Solution #4: Locate the dashboard on the lower left corner in portrait mode

Solution #8: Portrait Mode should have its own 4 panormaic Portrait Desktops

Portrait Mode should have its own 4 panormaic Portrait Desktops independent of the 4 panoramic Landscape Desktops (ie device has 8 desktops in total).

This is an alternative Solution to Solution #1 and Solution #6

The 4 x Portrait and 4 x Landscape desktops would be totally independent.

Switching device from Landscape to Portrait orientation would not involve "rotating" the Landscape desktop, but rather, switching to a completely separate Portrait desktop.

Device remembers last Desktop shown for a particular Orientation and switches to that Desktop when the Device next switches to that Orientation.

User will start with clean Portrait Desktops (just as they start with clean Landscape Desktops). User can add widgets, shortcuts, contacts, bookmarks etc to each of the four Portrait Desktops as they wish. Configuring the Portrait Desktops will be completely independent of the configuring of the Landscape Desktops. The user will be responsible for setting up all 8 desktops (4 landscape and 4 portrait) as they wish.

Portrait Wallpapers will be 480(w) x 800(h) [or if continuous across all 4 panoramic Portrait desktops, then 1920(w) x 800(h)].

Switching between the 4 panoramic Portrait Desktops will still involve swiping left or right.

On the Portrait Desktop, Status Bar will still be across the top of the (portrait orientated) screen with Dashboard/Apps button in top left corner of Status Bar.

In Portrait Mode, Dashboard would show same App thumbnails as the Landscape Dashboard, but instead of being up to 3 rows high x 4 icons across, it would be up to 5 rows high x 2 icons across. Again, with button in top left corner of portrait orientated screen.

Solution #9: thoughts on creation/implementaion of portrait mode

1a. Add a settings menu for the "desktop" and/or "desktop/"views" ( you can enable/disable them...why not add more functionality?) where you can switch between default configs. for portrait or landscape mode.

1b.Identifying the screen boundaries should not be difficult, just a resizing of the numbers or some such equivalent. In this way, you could set up two modes for your desktop configuration...one for standard landscape mode, all your objects in the various views the way you like them...and the same for portrait mode! At least this way everything is clearly and concretely defined...you would essentially have a max total # of 8 screens...4 or less for both. You can setup every object the way you like it, and if you change your mind down the way as to which DEFAULT setting you prefer, you can always just switch it.

1c.Now, having some sort of protocol or guide setup that would automatically calculate surface area available on any given screen, and then account for organization of objects and relative proximity of one object to another, which would then reorganize them in the best possible way might be a easier end-user solution, but that requires lots of work and I don't know if its possible area-math-wise or from a programing feasibility standpoint.

2a. Branching out and extending the idea of portrait mode from the desktop (the home-base for all launches) should be possible for shell-like things like the applications menu, which I have to assume uses some sort of grid setup, since all apps are evenly spaced. Again a set of rules for this area could be established governing borders and max # of objects for columns and rows.

2b.This should also be possible for viewing multiple open applications in the shell. There is clearly room for the top left app. grid button and a close or back button on the top right. Sizing of each app. window seems to be regulated based on number of open apps. at the time...sizing is automatic based on that always changing number, so you could make it 1 column xrows or 2 columns xrows, etc.

3a. I have noticed that in at least the standard internet browser, and the phone section, it is possible to view them in either portrait, or landscape mode. A simple vertical reorientation of the phone while browsing will switch it to portrait. Also, while in this portrait mode, extending the qwerty keyboard will reset screen orientation back to landscape, and reinserting after this will return you to portrait. Similarly, when you go to the phone section, it starts in portrait mode, but extending the keyboard will set it to landscape...and closing the keyboard back up puts it back into portrait. Here already there are default settings that are not customizable. Browser starts in landscape, phone in portrait, but neither can be set. It seems to me like in these instances, some sort of method is used to account for the viewing mode changes...could not this method help in creating a method to switch back and forth for the desktop?

^^^

Edit: Pulling out the keyboard should signal a switch to landscape mode during the time it is extended, and a return to portrait once it is closed (if it is not already in landscape mode.)

3b. I know that thinking about this for the shell is rather easy to imagine, and when you get into other apps and how they are shown it gets more difficult or impossible(?), but couldn't something be done, where for at least the basic apps that come with the phone, so that they have a portrait mode (that would be changed along with my imagined setting for the desktop accessible via the settings menu/app?) If that is too much work to tackle for any one person, or even a team, then fine, everything outside of basic phone shell operation could default to the already established landscape mode of operation.

But if something like this was made possible, and if you had this change done to your phone, every subsequent app that you might install would need to be accounted for in that if it doesn't have a mode of operation for portrait viewing, then it would default to landscape. Perhaps some sort of marker in each app that would account for this imaged app I am postulating? Lets call it N900 Portrait Mod. The independent developer community could then label their programs N900 Portrait Mod compatible or not. And for programs already created, updates could be released (if developers wanted to tackle making them compatible) to account for the setting.